How long does a VIN check take?

A matter of seconds. You enter the number and get the country and city of the assembly plant plus the answer to whether that Aerostar meets the condition for the customs preference. The check is free, needs no account and can be repeated for every lot you consider.

Does a sale in the USA mean assembly in the USA?

No. American sales also move cars built in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. Where a car was auctioned has nothing to do with the origin condition, which is why the assembly plant of a Aerostar is checked separately, on the VIN.

Who deals with customs clearance?

We do. We put together the proof of origin, prepare the customs declaration and keep contact with the agency. For a Aerostar that qualifies on its VIN we apply for the 0% rate, and the customs office decides on the documents.

What about models built in two countries at once?

That is a common case, and it is exactly where the VIN becomes essential. Two Aerostar cars from the same model year can carry different rates, 0% and 10%, because they came off lines on different continents.

Can I check a car before the auction ends?

Yes, and that is the point of doing it. Enter the VIN from the lot while bidding is still open, read the assembly plant, and you know whether to count on 0% or 10% before you set the highest figure you are willing to go to.

Ford Aerostar off an American line — what it changes in duty

The answer depends on the car: the Ford Aerostar is assembled in several countries, and the preference goes only to one that came off an American line. That car enters the EU at 0%, the rest at 10%. Neither the model name, nor the build year, nor the auction location settles it — the plant country in the production record does.

Where is the Ford Aerostar assembled?

The Ford Aerostar comes out of plants that do not always sit in the same country, and those plants set the rate. A car from an American line enters the EU at 0%, a car from a plant elsewhere at 10%. Every row here is built from real cars in our database, not from a manufacturer's plan.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Hazelwood (St. Louis)	United States	1FM, 1FT	132	0% duty

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

The VIN settles the matter in seconds. Aerostar cars from plants in the USA carry the prefixes 1FM, 1FT here, but we look deeper — at the final assembly plant tied to the whole number. Only that answers the question of 0% or 10%.

How much will you save?

EU–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade strips 10% of duty from cars finally assembled in the States and has applied since 2026-07-01. For a Aerostar that meets the condition, what is left on the bill is excise (3.1% or 18.6%) and 23% VAT. What that means for your car is a calculator job; here you get the rates.

Work out the import cost

What the import cost is made of

You get the rates here, not a finished figure — the calculator produces that on current data. Since 2026-07-01, duty on cars finally assembled in the States is 0% and 10% on everything else. Excise (3.1% or 18.6%) and 23% VAT are charged whatever the origin of the Aerostar.

Component	Rate
Duty — car assembled in the USA	0%
Duty — everything else	10%
Excise	3.1% up to 2.0 l, 18.6% above 3.5 l
VAT	23%

Rates, not amounts — the calculator works the sum out on current data.

Zero-duty paperwork — our job

Proof of origin and clearance are on us. For a Aerostar that the VIN places on an American line, we assemble the plant documentation and declare the car at the 0% rate. What we need from you is the car you picked and its VIN.

What to watch for when buying at auction

Before you raise your bid, look at the damaged area. On a Aerostar it is most often features.lots.characteristics.damage_type.front_end, and then the key question is whether the body structure was disturbed. Origin is a separate check, run on the VIN — the two things are independent of each other.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	37
Rear end	25
Normal wear	19

From the USA or from Europe?

The difference comes down to what you add and what you get back. Buying a Aerostar in Europe, you skip the ocean crossing and the clearance; buying in the States you add both, but on a car from an American line duty is 0% instead of 10%. Your choice depends on how much paperwork and repair you take on.

See current listings: Ford Aerostar